The battle to save Southeast Louisiana Hospital near Mandeville is playing out as a familiar tale, but with a somewhat unfamiliar twist. As in many political fights during lean times, the lines are drawn over just how far the state's responsibility to meet the public need goes. What's unusual in this case is that both camps are populated with Republicans, a phenomenon that's rendered many of the typical ideological arguments moot.

Scott Threlkeld, Times-Picayune archiveIn addition to the being one of the parishÃ¢ÂÂs largest employers, with 563 employees, the iconic hospital provides 174 inpatient beds for the people of St. Tammany and elsewhere in the state.

And so we have a community that has always enthusiastically supported Gov. Bobby Jindal suddenly finding itself furious with the administration over its surprise announcement that it would shutter the famed mental hospital after the federal government reduced Medicaid funding. Leading the fight are high-profile politicians who have, until now, considered themselves staunch Jindal allies. Opponents plan to gather Wednesday evening at Mandeville City Hall for a "speak out" on the subject, sponsored by the Committee to Save Southeast Louisiana Hospital and Mandeville Mayor Donald Villere.

The rough outlines of the argument are these:

The state says its decision was dictated by the federal cuts, as well as a longstanding desire to shift health care provision to the private sector.

The locals focus on the 563 jobs at stake with one of the area's biggest employers. They argue that the 174 mental health beds should remain close to the state's major population centers so that patients can be near their families and support networks (the hospital draws patients from the whole region, including 33 percent from the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain). They also note St. Tammany's relatively high suicide rate.

The "they" in this case, though, aren't the sorts who generally argue that the government shouldn't worry about the cost of providing such services. They generally consider themselves as fiscally conservative as Jindal does. In fact, two of the legislators who are raising a stink, and who say they were as blindsided as anyone else, are members of Jindal's own legislative leadership team.

State Sen. Jack Donahue, who landed the powerful Finance Committee chairmanship with the governor's backing, has been particularly vocal. He labeled the planned closure "an atrocity," said that Jindal has let down his strongest backers and challenged the governor's right to close the hospital without legislative approval at all.

"This community has supported you, but you are not supporting the community," he said at a St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Joining Donahue in opposition is Rep. Tim Burns, who chairs House and Governmental Affairs.

St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister, a former state GOP chair, declared herself "very disappointed" over the announcement and the fact that "we literally had no input." She's now appealing to the state to privatize the facility or find an operator to enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement and has offered $550,000 to help keep the doors open.

The St. Tammany Parish Council and Mandeville City Council have also condemned the move.

One refreshing side-effect of the ideological mix is that the people involved are focusing on merits, not political code.

Nobody's throwing around talking points about whether government should be big or small, and whether it's good or bad.

Nobody's claiming the public sector can't get anything right. It's clear from the hospital's reputation that, in this case, it can and does.

Instead, conservatives are talking about preserving state jobs, and acknowledging that those jobs act as a vital economic stimulus to a region. They're pushing to protect the safety net for vulnerable citizens. They're arguing that, yes, sometimes government does vitally important work, does it well and is best suited to keep doing it. And that all sorts of communities, prosperous and not, have needs.

It would be nice if the debate could segue into a broader conversation about how much public revenue is really needed, whether the state should step up to close the Medicaid gap, and if Jindal, who has been known to make a big show of rejecting federal help, should do more to tap into available resources.

It might not be enough to save the hospital. But at least it would force officials to focus less on their rhetoric, and more on what's truly at stake.